A week or so ago, there was a question on one of the astrology discussion groups I drop into from time to time – from a newcomer to astrology. This person was very concerned about how to deal with ‘transits and predictive work’, commenting on how anxiety-inducing it was for so many people when they contemplated upcoming challenging transits eg Saturn/Pluto, both in relation to themselves and how they could talk about tough upcoming patterns with their clients.

This reminded me of an article I had written some time ago for the Centre for Psychological Astrology’s in-house magazine Apollon on that very topic. It is called “Astrology as a healing and a wounding art”(i) and deals precisely with the anxieties that everyone has to face who begins to dig beneath the surface of the Star Sign column level of popular astrology.
In the article, which you can access via the Endnotes to this post, I decided to interview a number of my astrology students who had been studying/practising astrology for some time, regarding what they thought were both the healing and the wounding aspects of astrological study and practice. The results were most interesting. I hope you find reading the article useful – do feel free to leave your reactions via comments.
As you may imagine, there were a number of responses to the worried astro-newcomer’s questions and concerns. Here is what I wrote, which struck me on re-reading it as having quite a Saturn/Pluto tone to it. Hardly surprising, since I have a Mercury/Saturn/Pluto line-up in my own horoscope…but I think that there are certain tough realities which need to be faced if you are going to take up the practice of astrology. Maybe those of us who have been practising for a long time don’t spell them out clearly enough…
“…I used to start my astrology classes by pointing out to students that 99% of the human race had got through history and their lives without knowing any astrology and had managed to get by. I also used to point out to them that while astrology is archetypally predictive, its track record on actual specific prediction is historically pretty unimpressive.
I also told them the story of Prometheus, who stole the fire of knowledge from the gods and was severely punished as a result.
Astrology is a wounding as well as a healing art, and if students/practitioners can’t make their peace with that reality in such a way that they can be of constructive value to their future clients, they should take up something non-threatening like e.g. stamp collecting…”
Endnotes
(i)“Astrology as a healing and a wounding art”
Note: the link will take you through to the pdf Issue 3 of Apollon – scroll down and the Contents page will tell you where to find my article. There is also a brilliant article by Liz Greene called ‘Wounding and the will to live’ – about Chiron – which I would urge you to take the time to read.

500 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2019
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see About Page
I have been reading charts Astrology for over 40 years, mostly for my own learning and enjoyment, and it has been very enriching, but on occasion a bit frightening. I think that balancing this essentially intellectual practice can be successful with a physical discipline like Yoga or, Tai Chi, and meditation. I myself practice Qigong and meditate daily to maintain balance in a scary world.
Hi Liz
thanks for dropping by with this very thoughtful reply and for your constructive advice! I have dipped in and out of meditation over the years and found its calming effects hugely beneficial and balancing in stressful times. My equivalent to the physical disciplines you mention is going for long walks, in the countryside or by the sea if I can. Nature restores balance more than most contexts, I think…
My birthday is Jan 14th so pluto is about to hit my Sun for the first time. I shall be 64. It is with some trepidation that I wait for this tiny ball of power to hit my Sun. Saturn is my mate so I have no fears of him!
The car crash is in my 5H (placidus) 6H equal.
You make an excellent point about 99% of people not knowing anything about astrology yet they do fine. I shall cling on to that as the Lord of the Underworld plays shake, rattle and roll with me! 🤕
Hello Lena
many thanks for commenting.Yes, well, having been born with Saturn/Pluto conjunct four personal planets, Saturn is indeed my friend too – and Pluto has purged my life of much that has needed to go, even if I didn’t agree at the time! All the best for the trans Pluto conjunct Sun transformation. You could start it off by clearing out the basement – physically and/or metaphorically…
Via Facebook:
29.12.19:
Lesley Fanelli :
Very thought provoking. Thank you Anne
Glad you find it interesting, Lesley! ⚡️🙋
What an amazing periodical! The PDF has loaded, and I look forward to hours of new-reading material! Thank you, Anne!
Happy “Just-eclipsed Moon” a day late, and I hope that this next six-month stretch is a good one for all. I suspect that the stars have some surprises for us, and hopefully there will be good events to balance against the bad.
So glad you’re continuing your posts; it’s like seeing that light in the dark that guides us thru foggy times.